Scenario I: System Doesn't Boot
 
Usually this error is due to a simple boot loader misconfiguration. Your main priority is getting the system to boot again so that you can adapt your boot loader configuration.
 
If you have a current, working boot disk for your system, you are lucky ;-). If not, I'd suggest you create one right away. You can do that very easily via the Mandrake Control Center (Boot - Boot Disk).
If you prefer the command line:
 
mkbootdisk $(uname -r)
 
will do the same.
Boot with it to make sure it works.
 
If you are faced with a boot loader failure without having a boot floppy at hand, you have to start one of the external systems, preferably the Mandrake Linux rescue system, described on the previous page of this article and repair the boot loader configuration from outside (or at least create a working boot floppy).
 
When you are changing the configuration of the LiLo boot loader by editing '/etc/lilo.conf', you have to run the lilo afterward. But it has to be the 'lilo' on the hard drive, because you want to update the boot sector on that device. How to do that?
Simple. Enter the '/mnt' directory where the 'root' directory of your disk system is mounted to. Now change the 'root' directory with
 
chroot .
 
What does this do? When you are on the rescue system, your 'root' directory is that on the CD, with the system on the disk mounted to '/mnt'. With 'chroot' you basically switch your root directory to that on the disk. If you issue a command now, the disk version of this command will be executed, not the CD version. Execute
 
/sbin/lilo
 
and a new boot sector with the current configuration will be written to the master boot record. For GRUB, you'd likely execute something like
 
grub-install /dev/hda
 
although the device name might be different depending on your hardware setup. To switch your root directory back to the CD, type:
 
exit